Alien Romance: The Alien Warrior's Secret Baby

Description

A curvy girl held prisoner on planet X29 PLUS a hot alien who is commander at her camp PLUS a secret human-alien baby!

A generation ago, an alien force named The Gosebs invaded earth and imprisoned the entire human population. Mereen Silver has never known a life different to the one she has. She was born on a Goseb garrison and spent her entire life in their servitude. She has never known hope or happiness, only hard work and despair.

When Mereen is transferred to a different ship, she meets the revolutionary Goseb Commander Detro Mirol. He is not cruel or malicious, he is kind and gentle and, even more, he wants to help the human prisoners under his control.

As time passes Mereen and Detro grow closer and he shares his vision of a peaceful future for humans and Gosebs alike. Mereen is happy to help him in any way she can. But the rest of the Goseb commanders do not agree. They like having power over the humans, using them and discarding them as they will.

But then Detro suddenly disappears in the midst of a fight with a fellow commander over Mereen...

Just then, Mereen learns that she’s pregnant with Detro’s child. Will Detro come back for Mereen, and can she survive until he does? Will their love win out, or will the horrors of war crush them both?

Chapter One

Happiness was in short supply on X29. The planet should have had a better name, but we humans trapped on it felt no love for the strange, dusty place. It didn’t deserve a nickname. We called it Ex sometimes, but that’s all. It wasn’t home and it was never going to be. It was Ex, a place where we had to live because we had no other choice.

The klaxons rang loudly from speakers spread through the camp, signaling the start of another day. It was a horrible, loud, shrieking noise designed to wake even the drunkest man. The klaxons meant that it was time to get up and go to work. They were a call to the men of the camp, telling them to descend into the mines for another day of hard labor. The days were endless, filled with work followed by more days filled with more work, each one leading to the next with no break or rest.

With a loud sigh, I pulled myself out of bed and stretched. It was a struggle to keep my eyes open. I felt tired all of the time. It was an endless exhaustion. All I wanted to do was stay in bed. Nausea hit me when I moved and I put my hands to my lips, struggling to contain it. I couldn't afford to be sick. I needed to keep every bite of food I ate in my body.

I rubbed my soft belly. I could feel the start of a swell there. Or maybe there was nothing. Maybe it was all still in my imagination. But the symptoms were clear enough. I was pregnant. It was good I wasn’t showing yet. Hopefully, I could hide it for a while, wear baggy clothes, wrap myself in rags. I had always been curvy and I was thankful for that now. It would help hide the pregnancy for a little longer.

“Knock knock,” I heard a low voice say. I looked over to see a man with a red face and yellow eyes leaning into my tent. He was tall and thin, with that sunken-cheeked look that all the miners had after enough time spent here. He had dirt permanently trapped under his fingernails and his clothes were thin rags, though he managed a wan smile.

“Good morning, Rob,” I said, as I stood and stretched my already aching back.

“Ready to do some business, Mereen?” he asked me. Behind him, I could see the glaring morning sunlight of the planet. Morning and night were words that had no meaning here. The planet sat between two suns. There was no night. The temperature ran from hot to hotter.

“Always,” I replied. Rob was my salesman. He sold my wares to men in the mines for fifty percent of the profit. It was a high markup, but it kept me safe and away from the more dangerous side of the business. It was too risky for me to deal with the miners. Rob was better at it, and he knew them. He knew their schedules and personalities; he knew who could be trusted. I handled the supply, Rob handled the demand.

Rob and I had done this countless times. He didn’t need to be told to close the flap and wait on the other side. Once the flap was closed all the way and I knew he couldn’t see, I reached into my rucksack at the foot of my thin mattress. Inside, sewn into the lining, was a secret compartment. Reaching in, I took out a handful of small bags filled with a clear liquid. Alcohol, concentrated and deadly, but easy to smuggle around the camp.

“Enter,” I called to Rob, and he opened the flap and came inside. He handed me a heavy clump of copper ore and I placed it on the scale. It was three pounds, exactly. “How do you always get the number so perfect?” I asked.

“A magician never reveals his secrets,” Rob said, grabbing the small capsules of alcohol and slipping them into the many hidden pockets of his vest. “Same time tomorrow?”

“I’ll be here,” I answered, and with a tip of a nonexistent cap, Rob left. I let out a deep breath and sat down on my bed again. Just that small act had taken the strength out of me.

There were no comforts in my Spartan quarters. This was a work camp; it wasn’t meant to be pleasant. My tent had a thin mattress on the floor, a bucket for waste and a jug for water. I kept the few personal items I owned in my rucksack, and carried it with me wherever I went.

Our settlement was in the northern half of the planet. Anything further south would have been too hot and inhospitable, though I knew the southern pole had a small tropical island. It was the one place on the planet that wasn’t a miserable desert.

We lived on a huge, wide, flat plane. Thousands of tents lined up in neat rows, each one with human men and women working and struggling to survive another day. There were children as well, though only those boys that would one day be suitable for work were allowed to live.

The klaxons outside changed their tone. Tent check. I stood up, my body crying out from exhaustion. I grabbed my shawl and brought it over my head to shield my skin from the bright sun.

Standing next to my tent, I nodded to my neighbors. To my left was the wife of a miner who had already left for work. Women were considered too weak and small to be functional in the mines, but there was still plenty of work for us to do. There was washing to be done, food to prepare and Goseb commanders to care for.

According to the ID chip implanted in my neck, I worked in the washing facility. I should be spending my days elbow deep in suds. But a bribe every week to the woman in charge of the laundry ensured that I got credit for work without ever actually washing a single thing. The laundry was where I made alcohol and I used to surplus income to stay alive.

The Goseb guards walked between the tents. They held a sensor in one hand and every time it passed over a human there was a quiet beep that meant the human was exactly where they were supposed to be.

The guard loomed over me. He was wearing armor that both protected and cooled him. His face was covered with an expressionless black mask, but I knew what was underneath. Goseb’s were oddly human-like in stature and size. The guard in front of me was only a few inches taller than I was. Underneath the armor his skin was green and his eyes a bright violet color. He would most likely have short hair and a body decorated with tattoos. Not that I would ever see him. The Gosebs only took their armor off when they were at home among family.

I kept my eyes downcast as the sensor moved over me. I heard the beep, and then the Goseb moved past me and onto the next human. On and on down the line he went. It would take them about half an hour to scan every human, and we had to wait outside of our tents until they were finished.

I glanced at the faces of the tired and broken down men and women around me. They all looked aged and stooped, though there was no human on the planet over the age of sixty. No one made eye contact with me. It was too dangerous to make friends. At any time, the Gosebs could kill any one of us. They could wipe the whole planet clear if they wanted to, set their bombs down on us and torch the entire planet. We only lived as long as we were useful to them.

The klaxons stopped and I went back inside of my tent. I pulled a small working table out from underneath my bed and began to chisel away at the copper. I chipped and cut it into small portions and measured them out. Some of it would be used to bribe the guards, some to buy additional food and vitamins. The rest I would add to my stash. I had managed to save quite a bit of my copper, but I would need all of it and then some once the baby was here.

Nausea came roaring through me again and I closed my eyes and waited for it to pass before continuing to separate the copper. Once my work was done I set the alarms on my tent: tin cans and spoons hanging on a line. If anyone tried to get in, the noise from the rattling metal would wake me up. I crawled back into bed and closed my eyes. The heat of Ex wafted over me. I closed my eyes and began to doze, slipping in and out of a light sleep.

Outside, I could hear people moving up and down the lanes between the tents. There were boys selling water and homemade sweets, and women selling themselves to men. What was going to happen to me here? It had been two months since Detro and I had been separated. I’d had no word from him at all. He could be anywhere. Maybe he was dead. Maybe he’d been re-educated by the Gosebs. What if he had found some other woman to keep him warm at night? What if he had forgotten about me? He didn’t know about the child. I hadn’t known about the child when we were separated. There was no way to get a message to him.

Think happy thoughts, my mother used to tell me that. Think about happy things and better times. She spent her days cooking and cleaning and doing other things for the Goseb army. Whenever I cried, she would tell me to think of something happy. That was her trick for getting through long days. So, remembering my sweet mother who had been taken so long ago, I thought back to happier times.

Chapter Two

I was twenty years old when I was informed that I would be going to X29 to be a servant to a Goseb Commander. I had no possessions; I owned nothing. I didn’t even really have any friends, just the fellow human prisoners. Some of them I got along with, some I didn’t. I don’t remember if I was happy or sad. I can barely remember my life before Detro. I didn’t have any dreams or hope. Back then I assumed that my life would be short, unpleasant and defined by work.

It seemed the prisoners that were to go to X29 were chosen at random. I stood, chained to the women in front of and behind me, and shuffled slowly through the Goseb garrison. Even though I was a prisoner, I had considered this place home.

Did I feel sad when I left? It’s hard to say. I remember realizing that I would never again see the little corner where I slept at night, the one place in the world I considered mine. I would never again get to see the dull red sun rise over the Goseb home world as I washed the cobblestone steps of the garrison.

My journey to X29 was my first trip into space. Single file, we were led into the cargo bay where rows of hard metal chairs waited. We were ordered to sit. Once I was down, a cold metal bar was strapped across my chest, trapping me in the seat. I remember looking around, hoping to see stars or the Goseb home world from space. But there were no windows in the cargo bay. I could only see the sad faces of the other humans. It was always hard to look at them, hard eyes, permanent frowns, a defeated air. I knew that I must look just the same.

I gasped as the acceleration of the ship pushed me back against the cold metal chair. My neck strained as the ship fought the planet’s gravity. For a moment I could neither breathe nor move and panic flooded through me. I had no idea if this was normal or if I was about to die. But then the pressure relented and I realized we had made it into space.

I could smell the gas first. We all could. We weren’t permitted to speak to each other, but murmurs echoed around the cargo bay. Some struggled against the bars of their chairs, but I knew it was futile. I let my head fall back and took a deep breath. I could taste the gas. My eyes grew heavy, warmth spread through my body and the next thing I knew I was waking up. My head pounded and my throat was dry. I would later learn that I had spent forty-nine hours unconscious on the ship. I heard voices around me as my fellow humans moaned and cried out. It was harder on the older ones. An elderly woman two seats down didn’t wake up at all.

The transport ship shuddered then reverberated and an announcement came over the speaker. We had docked with the garrison ship orbiting the mining planet of X29.

About twenty Goseb guards entered the rooms as the bars along our chair released us.

“Kneel,” said the commanding guard. There was no question, no argument from any of the humans. We were beyond expendable to the Gosebs. It was easier for them to kill us than negotiate and we were reminded of that every day.

I knelt on the ground as Goseb guards moved up and down the lines of waiting humans. A tingle went up and down my spine as the guard stood behind me. I closed my eyes and there was a loud buzzing noise followed by a painful burning sensation on the back of my neck. I bit down a gasp, but it was over quickly. A quick sting. It was a tracking device linked to the ship. Anywhere I went, they would know. Anything I did, they would know.

“Mereen Silver.” My name was called out in a list with about fifteen others. Rising to my feet, I kept my head down and fell in line where I was told.

A Goseb soldier led us down the hallway, giving out instructions as we hurried along. His voice wasn’t muffled by his black mask, it came out clear and commanding. “Grand Commander Detro Mirol has been given the great honor of overseeing mining efforts on X29. You will work as part of his personal retinue and see that all of his needs and desires are met.”

Detro had his own private living quarters on the ship. A large kitchen, sitting rooms, bedrooms and his own personal human staff to go along with it. We arrived in the brand new kitchen and changed into gray jumpsuits. We knelt on the floor waiting for our new orders to be given.

Detro Mirol was a grand commander, and his steward was a Goseb soldier on the rise named Troslo. He stomped into the kitchen and looked over the humans kneeling before him. He took his time walking up and down our ranks. Sometimes he would touch our hair or shoulders. I knew other Gosebs like this, and humans as well. He had tasted power and liked it. He wanted more.

He stopped before me and tilted my chin up to meet his.

“Mereen Silver,” he said, reading off a display. “No marks or charges against you. That’s impressive. Stand.”

I did as I was told, aware that every eye in the room was on me.

“Grand Commander Detro Mirol is a well-disciplined leader. You will meet his schedule or you will be reassigned.” I nodded. “He likes his basda the moment he wakes, which is after exactly seven hours of sleep, no more, no less. Half an hour after delivering the basda you will deliver his breakfast. He eats lunch six hours after breakfast and dinner six hours after that. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“You will deliver his meals to him and help him dress for the day. You,” he pointed to an older human woman next to me, “Sierra, you will be the head cook for the Grand Commander. If he is displeased with his food, or it does not arrive when he wishes it, you two will be the ones to suffer the consequences.”

Sierra and I glanced at each other and nodded at the guard. We were thrown right into the work. According to the very exact schedule, Detro was expecting his coffee within the half hour. Still tired from the drugs, with a headache that refused to relent, I was given instructions on how to reach Detro’s quarters and the precise way I was to knock on his door.

There was an elaborate cart and I carefully loaded a set of ornate Goseb drinking glasses and a large pitcher of basda, which is a warm, caffeinated drink favored by the Gosebs. I made sure to wipe my fingerprints off the perfectly blown glass cups, and carefully lined each cup up in a neat row.

The door opened automatically for me. The sensor in my neck would allow me access to certain places on the ship. I took a tentative step into the gunmetal-gray hallway and then took another. The long hallway was empty, and even though I was doing what I had been ordered to I still felt like I was about to get in trouble at any minute. It was always dangerous to be a lone human on a Goseb ship. I kept glancing behind me and around me, looking for a place to hide should trouble come.

The gravity on the ship was lighter than the Goseb home world and it felt a little like I was floating when I walked. I stopped short when I came across a window and looked out into inky blackness spotted with stars. Space. I was in space at that exact moment. I stepped away from the car to get a better look out of the window and I saw the world of X29 below me. It was like an orange, spinning ball, massive and breathtaking.

As instructed, I pushed the communication panel once. Almost immediately the door opened and, taking a deep breath, I entered the softly lit chamber. It was decorated like a traditional Goseb home. There were plush carpets on the floor and elaborately decorated tapestries hanging from the wall. There was even a fireplace along one wall, though it was non-working. Fire on a ship made little sense. Instead, it projected heat and the image and sound of a crackling fire.

It was lit now, casting a soft orange light and a warm heat through the room. There was a large bed against one wall and a massive desk against the other. I glanced at the desk and saw the black, featureless mask worn by Gosebs and the matching dark armor. Detro wasn’t dressed yet.

I kept my eyes down. I didn’t want him to be embarrassed or think me impudent. I didn’t see him in the room, so I left the cart near the desk and then turned to leave.

“Stop,” I heard a stern voice say, and a shiver ran up and down my back as I stopped an arm's reach from the door.

Chapter Three

I could hear him moving around behind me and I wasn’t sure what to do. If I turned around without permission, I could be punished. If I kept my back turned to him, he could consider it rude and I would be punished. He was a new entity. I needed to learn his ways and mannerisms if I was going to survive on the ship.

“Relax, you are in no trouble,” he said. But I didn’t know how to relax in front of a Goseb commander. Was this some sort of trick? Or did he want something else from me? Slowly, I turned to face him. I let my eyes flick to his face for just a moment, but it was enough. He was standing near the door to his personal washroom. He was wearing nothing but a robe hanging loosely over his strong form and staring at a small display held in his left hand.

His skin was a deep green color, and his violet eyes seemed to shine in the dimly lit room. He had short, dark hair and thin lips with a long nose. His open robe revealed a strong chest.

“What is your name?” he asked me. His voice was soothing. He wasn’t yelling at me or interrogating me, just asking a question.

“Mereen Silver, sir,” I answered.

“You were last stationed on the Goseb home world, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How I miss my home,” he said, dropping the display to his side. “The red sun, the vibrant jungle, the green ocean. I long for home. I have not been there in many years.” He stopped and looked at me as if expecting me to say something.

“It is a lovely planet, sir,” I replied.

A long silence fell between us as he looked at me with a bemused expression. “Have you ever seen Earth?” He asked.

“No,” I answered quietly. “I was born and raised at the garrison.”

He nodded and, with a wave of his hand, two panels slid aside, revealing a huge window and the planet below. “It’s a shame we couldn’t find a planet more similar to Earth. But X29 was just too rich in ore for us to pass up. They say it is unpleasant for the humans who live there. I hoped you could tell me if it felt familiar, but since you’ve never been to Earth...” He shrugged and pointed to the tray of basda. “Pour me a glass,” he commanded, and with a nod I did as I was told.

Detro turned and stared out of the window as I struggled to keep my hand from shaking. He heard the glass clinking from my nervous hand, and turned around and watched as I put the delicate pitcher down. He moved towards me. He was taller than I and he crossed the room in a few steps.

I was frozen in place. There was nothing I could do. There was no fight I could give. I closed my eyes and thought back to happier times. I felt his warm hand on my chin, and he tilted my head up to give him a better look.

“Open your eyes,” he commanded. I did as I was told, looking into his purple eyes. “They’re lovely,” he said. “I was told that brown eyes were the most common color for humans, but I am still struck by them whenever I see them.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. My heart was pounding in my chest. I was standing only inches from a high commander. I could feel his warmth; I could smell the peppery soap he used. He inched closer and tilted his head. We were only inches apart. His bright eyes were still staring into mine. I swallowed heavily. He blinked, and whatever spell had been cast over us passed. He let go of my chin and took a step back.

“Troslo has told you of my schedule?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“See that you stick to it and no harm will come to you. I reward good work, but I do not hesitate to punish laziness.”

“Thank you, sir,” I replied. He waved his hand and I was given permission to leave.

I couldn’t stop shaking. I didn’t know what it meant when he looked into my eyes. What did he want from me? It wasn’t impossible to guess. It was common knowledge that some Goseb men preferred human women. But I didn’t know if Detro was one of them. I could do something with this information. I had heard stories of women who used their bodies to get what they wanted. Women who manipulated both human and Goseb men.

How did they do that? I had no idea. I had been fortunate on the Goseb garrison. It had been forbidden for the Goseb soldiers to lie with human females. We were considered weak distractions. Goseb men were encouraged to find a good Goseb woman to bond and reproduce with. Plus, my curvy frame was not favored by the Gosebs. Their women were tall and willowy. My wide hips and large breasts were a turn-off for most of them.

Twenty minutes later, the cart was loaded with a meal for Detro and I was again walking down the hallway to the chambers, frantically debating what to do. Should I bat my eyelashes, sway my hips, lick my lips? But that would encourage him and the thought of actually being with him in that way was terrifying.

I was at his door before I knew it. There was no more time for debate. Detro kept a strict schedule. I pressed the communication button, the door opened and I walked inside. It was brighter now. Detro was dressed, but not yet in his armor or mask. He sat at the desk, barely lifting his head when I entered.

I brought the cart next to him. All of my thoughts of pouting lips and batting lashes were gone. I was too nervous, too afraid to do anything but turn towards the door.

“Why are you always in such a rush to leave?” he asked, without looking up.

“Forgive me, sir,” I said. “But that is generally what commanders want.”

“I am not a normal commander,” he said. “I was brought here to oversee the human working camp below and improve output. It is my opinion that happier, well-fed humans work better than those that are starved and miserable. X29 is my opportunity to test this theory.”

“I hope it is a great success, sir,” I said. I had never spoken so conversationally to a Goseb before. Normally the Goseb only gave orders which I carried out. No Goseb had ever told me of their plans or desires. None of them had ever asked for my company like this.

He looked up then and I saw the hint of a smile on his face. “I’m glad to hear that, but it’s not the humans I need to convince.”

“I never knew the Gosebs cared much for human happiness,” I said.

“The older generation felt that way,” he said. “But that was during the invasion and early occupation. Things have changed now and the Goseb society requires humans to function. We can no longer treat your people like a disposable resource. There is a new generation that thinks it might be better to encourage the humans instead of oppressing them so violently.”

He was watching me, judging my response. But I was an expert at concealing my emotions and I kept my face a blank mask.

“What do you think?” he asked me.

“It makes sense to me, sir.”

“And what is it that you’re afraid to tell me?” He turned in his seat and looked at me. “I can see that you’re hiding something. What makes you so nervous? You can tell me. You won’t be punished.”

“I think it’s a good idea, sir. But I don’t think it will ever happen. I’m sorry.” I regretted the words the moment I spoke them. I cast my eyes down to the plush rug and waited. I wondered which would come first, the yelling or the hitting. I should have flattered him and told him he was a genius. Instead, I insulted the first Goseb who had ever shown kindness to me.

“Do not apologize,” he said. “There are many who think that way. But my allies and I are convinced that we can change their minds. It will take a long time, and peace between our races will not occur in our lifetime. But as the older, harder generation passes on, a new generation emerges. One that sees more value in humans than just the physical labor we can pull from them.

“It’s always scary to go against tradition. There are few who enjoy change. But change is necessary. Without it, we grow stagnant and die. I know my ideas are unpopular now, but I am confident that I can prove here and now on this planet that kindness and generosity will get us farther than violence and hardship. Will you help me, Mereen Silver?” He spoke eloquently and with passion, and when he was done I stood before him in awe. Who was this commander that so casually spoke of improving my people’s lives?

“Of course,” I answered in a breathy whisper. His dream was so far-fetched as to be laughable, but he spoke with such a strong conviction that I could do nothing but agree with him. For just a moment, I allowed myself to imagine a future where humans were not just the starving prisoners of the Goseb, but were instead their own people with their own voice and say. But the flash of imagination was gone in an instant. It was foolish to hope for such a thing. Detro was only one Goseb. How could he be expected to change the minds of all the rest?

Chapter Four

It was late in the afternoon when I finally rose from my bed. I felt better in the afternoon, thanks to resting all morning, no doubt. I was lucky. I knew there were plenty of women in this camp as pregnant as I was who didn’t have the options I had. They only knew how to do the work the Gosebs gave them.

Detro had been missing for weeks, and in that time all of the plans he had implemented on the planet had been done away with. The large meals, the day of rest, the entertainment, the doctors and medicines were all gone. X29 had returned to its former brutality.

I wrapped my shawl over my head and, throwing my rucksack over my shoulder, I stepped out into the heat of the afternoon. The camp was empty. The men were down in the mines, the women were at their work and my shift in laundry started in mere minutes. I walked past rows of identical tents and finally emerged on the edge of the camp where the actual buildings stood.

The sensor in my neck opened the door to the laundry and I quickly moved down the steps. Everything here was underground, where it was cooler, and the laundry was no exception.

The laundry was one big open room. The hard, dirt floor was cool and most women worked barefoot. Dirty clothes and sheets were piled into large vats which quickly cleaned and dried them. Most of the women stood along a long table, folding and sorting the clothes.

“Good morning, Marge,” I said to the human woman in charge of the laundry. She was hunched over and withered, with long strands of gray hair hanging in her eyes. She looked mean, and she was, but she wasn’t stupid. I made a tidy profit for her and she appreciated that.

She nodded once at me and said, “There’s work waiting for you in the office.”

I moved past her, ignoring the women working at the long table. I was always worried about gossip. If word spread about my side business I would be executed immediately. I opened the door to the office and saw the room where the Goseb armor and masks were cleaned and corrected. There was a pile of black, featureless masks on one of the tables. They were marred by small dings and scratches and would need to be repaired. Fixing the masks was technically my job, but I moved past them without stopping.

Behind the table with the masks was a small storage space filled with chemicals and sewing supplies. Hidden amongst the needles and thread and cleansers were the containers where my alcohol sat and fermented. I got to work, mixing sugar and water and heating them up. It was all done by rote memory. We used to make it all the time back at the garrison for the cooks and the doctors. For a long time, I used to do nothing but make alcohol. I hated it then, but I appreciated the skill now.

There was nothing to do but watch it slowly boil and wait. I pressed a hand to my stomach, pressing down and feeling the small swell of my pregnancy. I wondered how far along I was. Detro had been sent away fifty-nine days ago, so I was at least three months along, if not more.

I wondered if it was a boy or a girl. I had never actually seen a human-Goseb hybrid before, although Detro had. He said they had pale skin tinged with green, the hair color was always the Detro black, but the eyes were human in color, brown or blue, depending on the human.

If he didn’t come back before the baby was born, what would I do? Would I have to birth it by myself and then keep it secret and hidden away? But how long could such a thing last? I lived in a tent with people all around me. They would hear the cry of the baby. They would rat me out for favors from the Gosebs and then they would take the baby from me and...

I couldn’t go down that path. There was no happy ending there. All I could do was wait and pray that the gods brought Detro to me.

Not knowing was the worst part. What if he was dead already? What if I was hoping and praying for nothing? There had been no word from him. There was no gossip in the camp. Everyone wondered what had happened to their previous benevolent Goseb Commander, but no one had any clue where he might actually be.

I spent the afternoon in the small, cramped closet, packaging up my goods. I slipped a bit of copper into Marge’s hand on my way out. Once outside, I turned to my left and headed towards the tent where the medical supplies were kept.

When Detro was in charge, the medical tent was always fully stocked. Most common medicines, pain killers and disinfectants could easily be made on the large orbiting ship and then delivered to the planet. It made sense, Detro used to say, for the Gosebs to keep their workers healthy.

Things had changed. There were no lines outside the tent and I walked right in. It looked barren and empty. There were tall shelves in the room, but they were almost totally empty. A lone human medic sat on a table, his legs hanging over the side. He was staring off into space when I entered, and I cleared my throat to get his attention.

“Mereen, I was waiting for you,” Timon said. He was tall and thin, with long, shaggy, brown hair and perpetual sunburn on his nose and cheeks.

“Am I late?” I asked.

He shrugged, “I don’t even bother keeping track of the time anymore. Ever since the regime change there’s not much reason for me to be here.”

“Well, I appreciate it,” I said.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Nauseous and tired, but nothing too out of the ordinary.”

“Good,” he responded. “Have you reported it yet?” he asked.

I shook my head. Timon didn’t know that the baby was half Goseb. No one could know that.

“Well, you can get away with hiding it until you’re clearly showing. Some women wait until the seventh month to report it.”

I nodded, feeling the small packets of alcohol and copper in my pocket. He stood up and walked over to the opening in the tent, making sure no one was around. “Looks like a storm is brewing,” he said, as he came back in. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet that contained a week’s worth of prenatal vitamins. We traded four alcohol packets and three ounces of copper for one week of pills. It was a high markup, but it wasn’t like I had anything else to spend my money on.

“You should head home now, to beat the storm,” Timon said.

“Has there been any word of Detro?” I asked quietly.

“None that I’ve heard,” Timon replied. As the medic, Timon had the best access to the Gosebs. Sometimes he overheard things.

“You’ll tell me if you hear anything, right?” I asked. He nodded and then held open the door to his tent and I stepped out into a threatening sky.

A dust storm was forming. The sky had turned a grayish green and the wind whipped my shawl from around my shoulders. I grabbed it before it escaped and wrapped it more securely around my head. Squinting against the wind, I struggled to find my tent. I had just managed to get inside and secure the flaps when the storm began to really rage.

The wind howled and above me I heard a sharp crack of thunder. The sides of my tent were whipped around as wind and sand and silt seeped inside. There was nothing to do in a storm but wait it out. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too bad. Hopefully, it wouldn’t wipe the entire camp from the face of the planet.

I shuddered from the cold and wrapped myself up in my blanket as I watched silt enter and settle in my tent. I didn’t know why I bothered to remove it. It always came back. But I hated having that layer of filth over what I had come to consider my home.

Think of better times. But the howling wind and the whipping tent flaps kept interrupting my memories.

“You shouldn’t think of past happiness, but dream of future bliss.” Detro had told me that. I closed my eyes and imagined the Sanctuary. I didn't believe in it, of course, but Detro did. A place where human and Gosebs lived in peace as equals. He had been so sure it existed. Back then his confidence had been infectious. We used to lie in bed together and dream of going there. But now that I was alone it seemed more of a fantasy than ever.

Chapter Five

Detro peppered me with questions every time I brought him a meal. Why did humans have different hair and eye colors? Were some colors preferred to others? What kind of foods did humans enjoy eating? Would I rather be too hot or too cold?

At first, I was flustered by his questions. I was more interested in keeping him happy than giving him information. But he saw right through that.

“How many times must I tell you not to fear me? I want honest answers. I want to help the humans below us and the ones on this ship, including you.”

“What if I give you an answer you don’t like?” I asked.

“No harm will come to you,” he said.

“What if I don’t know the answer?” I said. “I don’t know why humans have different hair colors and I don’t know if I would rather be too hot or too cold. It would depend on where I was.”

He nodded and smiled at me. “That was perfect, exactly what I was looking for. Come, sit with me.”

I moved carefully to a chair next to his desk. I sat down, perched on the edge in case I needed to get up suddenly to do something for him.

“Do you like basda?” he asked.

I nodded. It was a rare treat I had only tasted a handful of times. He poured me a heavy cupful and handed it to me. The hot cup warmed my hands and I breathed in the nutty scent of it and then took a careful sip. It warmed me from head to toe and after a few more sips I could feel my heart start to race from the caffeine.

“Go easy on that,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s pretty strong.”

I nodded and put the cup down and then, emboldened by the caffeine, I spoke quickly, “I’m afraid I’m not the right human for this job. I’ve never even seen Earth. The only humans I know are people like me, who have spent their entire lives in servitude. I don’t know what normal humans like or do. I’m not normal.” I regretted the words the moment I spoke them. This could drive me away from the one Goseb who had ever been nice to me. But that was the problem. He was nice. I didn’t want to lie or deceive or trick him.

“Come,” he said, and to my surprise he held out his hand to me. His ungloved green hand. It was so rare for a Goseb to be without his armor, but Detro looked so comfortable out of it. It was starting to feel normal to see him so unguarded.

He walked to the screen and focused in on the human camp. The long lines of white tents shuddered in the wind.

“What is a normal human?” he asked me. “The Goseb invasion took place over eighty years ago. Other than a few scattered groups of human rebels, all of you live under our dominion. Most of you have never known a life without the Gosebs. You are a normal human, Mereen. This is what normality is for humans now. We can never go back; we can only press forward. Humans and Gosebs are intertwined and we can never be separated. We must accept this new normal and push forward into it.”

I couldn’t understand this Goseb in front of me. He and his people had all of the power. We were their prisoners. We worked without pay. Our lives were owned by them. They could do anything with us. Yet, here Detro was talking about peace and prosperity and kindness. I had never heard a Goseb speak like this before. I had never been treated with respect. I had never been listened to.

I thought about Detro all the time. I wanted to do well at this task he had given me. I watched my fellow humans. I listened to their complaints, logging them away for later. I gathered knowledge for him. I hoarded it and, the moment I saw him, I gave it all to him.

I slowly grew more comfortable around him. It was no longer strange when he offered me a glass of basda or welcomed me to sit down and speak with him. He was still intimidating, he still held my life in his hands, but I trusted him with my life. I knew he wouldn’t abuse it or throw it away. He valued me. He was the first Goseb who ever did.

“I was reading a report about humans before the invasion,” Detro said. He was lounging in his bed reading off a pad as I set his lunch up around him. “Most humans lived in family units. One mother, one father, multiple children and often a larger set of relatives - aunts, uncles, grandparents - to help with raising the children.

“It’s so different from the Goseb way. The moment our children are old enough to talk they are sent to the training academies. There they learn to read, do math, fight. The young ones are watched. Some are better at fighting, others are good with machines. The trainers then decide what that young student is best suited for and the focus of their education tightens. We are not close to our parents on the Goseb home world. We are much closer to the students we attend the academies with.

“But the humans are devastated when they are separated from their children. Quite often the mothers never recover. There has been some talk about improving the education centers for humans, but I fear separating children and their parents might not be the best way to go with your people. What do you think?”

“I think of my mother,” I said. I couldn’t look at him anymore. Instead, I stared at the orange planet on the screen. A huge dust storm was developing in the south. I could see the heavy clouds marring the planet's surface.

“She was a cook at the garrison. She worked all day, rising early in the morning and working straight through into the night. But she still found time for me. I would hide under the tables during the day, watching the feet of the humans as they worked. They used to slip scraps down to me, little sweets. My mother used to check on me. I can still remember it so clearly. I knew what her feet looked like. I would see her coming and then she would lean over and look at me under the table, and she would smile or make a funny face and then go back to work.

“She must have been so tired, but she still found time for me. She would sit up with me when I was sick. She would stay up late into the night to teach me how to read and write. I can still remember her smell, the way she hugged me. But it wasn’t just her taking care of me. I think I helped to take care of her. She told me I was the best thing that had ever happened to her.”

I had lost myself in my memories. I forgot where I was and who I was talking to. I put away all the pretensions I normally wore around the Gosebs. As I spoke I walked towards the screen and looked down at the planet with my back to Detro.

“Where is she now?” He asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. When I was fourteen a Goseb commander at the garrison was promoted. He was allowed to choose which prisoners he wanted to take and he chose my mother. For a while we managed to communicate with each other, passing messages between humans travelling between the two camps. But after a while I stopped receiving messages from her and I didn’t know where to send mine. I haven't spoke to her in over ten years.”

“What was the commander's name?” Detro asked.

“Winsam,” I answered, still feeling far away and distant. Still remembering my mother’s smile, the feel of her hair, the way she used to talk in her sleep. “I think it is very cruel to separate families. We humans already have so little. It’s such an easy thing to let us stay together for at least a little while.”

I turned to face him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and he nodded wordlessly at me.

“And what about marriage?” he asked. “Is that still a custom humans have?”

I nodded.

“Have you ever been married?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Why not?” he asked. “You are beautiful by any measure.”

“It’s not for me,” I said, with a shake of my head, still staring at X29. “My life is already hard enough. I never have any time to myself. Adding someone else just makes everything so complicated. Besides, what if I really loved someone and then they were reassigned and ripped away from me? I already lost my mother. I don’t think I could survive another separation.”

Chapter Six

I had been working for Detro for several months when news arrived that a delegation would be arriving from the home world. Detro had slowly started instituting his less strict measures and they had started to pay off. On X29 productivity was up and executions were down. It was working, and Gosebs from the home world were coming to see for themselves.

They would, of course, not spend any time in the human work camp. That was far too unpleasant for them. Instead, there would be a hunting expedition on the one place on the planet that actually had foliage, the small jungle in the southern hemisphere. Detro wanted a human servant to come along and cook and clean for him at the camp, and I was chosen.

The jungle was hot and wet. Walking through the tall trees and hanging vines, the air was so thick with moisture that it felt like walking through water. I stepped off the ship and took a deep breath of the wet air. I could smell the trees, the flowers, the dirt underneath my feet. After spending all that time on the sterile ship it felt wonderful to be back on a planet.

The other Gosebs had their own human prisoners, so I only had to work for Detro and it was easy enough to keep him happy. I set up his camp exactly as I knew he would like it. He came in as I was working and walked over and sat behind the small desk I had set up for him.

There was no need for me to kneel when he entered or even stop my work. Instead, we both just went about our tasks. Occasionally we would have to move around each other in the small tent, but it was like a dance. We knew each other well enough that we knew what the other would do.

When another Goseb entered, everything changed.

“It is a fine morning, Detro,” a Goseb commander said, as he marched into the tent. I dropped to my knees and kept my eyes downcast.

“A fine morning for a hunt,” Detro agreed. I glanced up and saw this commander staring at Detro, and then his eyes glanced down to me and a hard frown appeared on his face. It took me a moment to realize where the anger was coming from. The Goseb commander was wearing his black mask, but Detro still did not have his on.

The tension in the tent changed, and I knew it was because of me. According to Goseb custom, Detro should always have his mask on when a human was in the room.

“Go and find some occupation,” the commander spit at me, and I quickly sprang up to my feet and hurried out of the tent. I stopped the moment I was outside, breathing heavily. Things on Detro’s ship had been so relaxed, and it was startling to have to go back to the world where I was nothing.

They left for the hunt and were gone all day. The other humans were kept separate from me and so, for the first time in a long time, I was alone. I walked around the camp. The jungle here was intense. Everything seemed so big. The leaves on the hanging vines were the size of my head. The bugs were the size of my hand. Birds flew above me screeching and calling out, their cries echoing around the jungle.

The hunters came back successful, their kills carried by their humans: large wild beasts with cloven hooves, long tails and bright plumage. They were cleaned and drained and then roasted over the fire, sending a mouthwatering scent over the camp.

Discretely, I watched Detro as he moved about his fellows. He was younger than most of them, yet he walked with a regal bearing and seemed to command respect. But his ideas were met with scoffs. The commanders didn’t seem that interested in Detro’s ideas about kindness. Even though output had improved impressively on the planet, they thought it was a fluke, something that would pass eventually.

They ate and drank long into the night. I sat on the ground near Detro’s tent, struggling to keep my eyes open as the cackle of Goseb laughter passed over me. At some point in time I must have drifted off, because when I opened my eyes it was dark and I could only see a lone fire in the distance.

Someone had my arm and was pulling me to my feet. I struggled in the darkness to see who had me. Whoever it was held my arm tightly and pulled me away from the camp and towards the woods.

“Detro?” I whispered, but a hand was clamped over my mouth. It wasn’t Detro. It couldn’t be. I didn’t know who was hiding under the mask, but Detro would never be so rough with me. I struggled, but the hand holding me only gripped tighter.

I was moving away from the camp. This was bad. I didn’t want to be away from the safety and warmth of the fire. Panic flooded my veins. My struggle did nothing; my tears did nothing. I fought and pulled, trying to get back to Detro, but it was like trying to swim upstream. No matter how hard I fought, I made no progress.

Suddenly, I was pushed against a rough tree and I felt hands on my hips, and then they were moving over my body.

“No,” I sobbed, fighting against the Goseb, but the hand was back on my mouth, silencing me.

Think of better times, I thought, closing my eyes. But then the hands were gone. With a grunt I was free, and I opened my eyes to see my attacker lying flat on his back with Detro standing over him. I recognized Detro even with his mask and armor, even in the dark.

I quickly wiped the tears away from my face and Detro moved to put himself between me and the commander on the ground.

“How dare you!” the commander hissed, as he struggled to get to his feet.

“I don’t permit my humans to be touched,” Detro said.

“You don’t give orders to me,” the commander yelled. “I am above you. I am a fighting commander, not some bureaucrat who spends all day watching prisoners. I can have any human I want. You think you’re a real warrior? You’re nothing. You’re pathetic. Now step aside.”

“No,” Detro said.

“You are too close to the humans. They are weak. We are strong. We invaded their planet and overtook them. They are beneath us and always will be. Your feelings for them make you weak.

“Give me the human or I will make you pay for it. I will have you removed from your command and sent to a re-education training facility. You will lose all of the advances you've worked so hard for. You will be reduced to nothing and I will have her anyway. Now step aside.”

“I command this planet,” Detro said. “And before you toss aside my accomplishments I will remind you that the ore we mine here is used to build your ships and your weapons and your technology. Without me, your fighting force would be nothing more than an easily defeated scrap heap. The Goseb world has changed. It’s not just about the fight anymore. Our society has grown and we must change with it or lose everything.”

“How dare you lecture me!” the commander said. “I am your superior in every way.”

“If you touch her, I will kill you here in this forest,” Detro said. “You may be superior to me, but I am younger and stronger than you. We are not easily matched. I would defeat you. You are not such a great warrior anymore.”

“You will pay for this, Detro,” he spat, and then stomped through the forest back to the camp. “Pack up,” he yelled, “we’re leaving.”

“You have to stop him, apologize,” I said, grabbing Detro’s arm.

“I will not,” he said.

“Please, Detro,” I begged. “Don’t let your pride get in the way of being smart. I couldn’t stand it if you were to lose everything for me.”

“And what should I do?” he demanded, spinning around to face me and ripping off his mask. “Should I just stand aside while he has his way with you? Should I try to ignore your screams and your tears? Don’t you understand, Mereen? You are everything to me. You are the only thing I cannot stand to lose.”

Chapter Seven

The Goseb camp was packed up quickly, and within the hour they had taken to their ships and left. We moved more slowly. Detro was in no hurry to return to the ship and the angry communications that waited for him. Instead, he sat down in front of the fire and motioned for me to join him.

I couldn’t sit. Instead, I paced around the campfire, my arms crossed. Detro just stared into the fire, sipping slowly from a glass.

“Come, sit beside me,” he said.

“No!” I yelled, and when I looked at him he looked almost impressed. I had never spoken to him that way before, but I couldn’t stop now. “You have to do something about that,” I said, pointing to the ships. We could see them in the sky, quickly moving up and away from us.

“There is nothing to be done,” he said, with a shrug. “Commander Etan will only be pleased when he gets what he wants, and I won’t permit that. A stand has to be made. It can no longer be appropriate for the Gosebs to treat humans like they’re nothing. I won’t stand by and watch that happen.”

“But if he reports you to your superiors then you’ll be taken away. You won’t be able to fight anymore. You’ll be taken out of the game.”

“I’m not done,” he said. “I have more power and more supporters than Etan. This is only the start of the fight, not the end.”

I crossed my arms and stared into the thick jungle. I wished I had the skills to survive in the wild. I wanted to just run away into the forest, live in the vines, drink from streams, never get on a spaceship again. I took two steps toward the thick foliage but the faraway call of some large animal stopped me.

There was no running away. I could never escape the Gosebs. This was their planet. With their superior technology, they could find me in mere moments.

“Please stop worrying, Mereen,” he said.

“How can you say that?” I demanded. “How am I supposed to relax? The Gosebs are going to destroy everything you’ve built here. They’re going to take away the privileges you’ve given. Do you think they care that output is better? They like using us. They like abusing us. They like the power they hold over us more than efficiency. We’re going to lose everything and it’s all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said, with a shake of his head.

“Yes, it is. You’re doing this for me. I’m the entire reason the commander left so angry. You shouldn’t have stopped him.”

“Don’t ever say that,” he said, getting up and striding towards me. He took my shoulders in his hands and turned me until I was facing him. “You are worth everything to me.”

We were so close, only inches apart. His strong hands were the only thing I could focus on. It had been a long time since we had stood this close, since the first time we met when he took my chin in his hands.

Much had changed since that first day. I felt no fear with him. His strong arms were on mine, but I wasn’t afraid. If anything, I only felt safer. I reached up and put a hand on his chest. Gosebs had a similar makeup to humans. His heart was in the same place as mine. I could feel it thumping under my hand. He looked calm, but I knew it was just another mask he was wearing. His heart was pounding, thundering away in his chest like the galloping of a thousand horses.

“I hate that you’re my prisoner,” he said, and it felt like my heart was being torn in half. “I wish that I could claim you as my own. I wish that you could be free on my ship and go wherever you wanted. I don’t want to be with you like this. I want us to be equals.”

“It’s the only way,” I said. “Even you said that we should not expect to see peace within our lifetimes.”

“There is another way,” he said, and his voice was a low whisper. I could hear the call of animals, the crackle of the fire and the wind whispering through the trees. “Have you ever heard of the Sanctuary?”

I shook my head.

“I’m not surprised,” he said. “The Gosebs would never permit this rumor to spread amongst the humans.” He caressed my cheek with the back of his hand and said, “Please come and sit by the fire. You’re cold.”

We walked over together and sat down in comfortable chairs. Detro put a blanket over my shoulders and I stared into the fire as he spoke.

“Officially, the Sanctuary doesn’t exist,” he said. “The same way there is no human rebellion.”

“There is no human rebellion,” I said, looking at him in confusion.

“Of course there is,” he responded. “There’s a major battle being fought in your solar system as we speak. The humans have caught up to us, technologically. We no longer have the fastest ships and best weapons. There’s a resurgence happening. But the Gosebs are worried that if word spreads it will encourage the human prisoners to rebel. It’s better, to them, that you exist with no hope at all.”

“A real human rebellion,” I said, my eyes wide. “I’ve only ever lived under the Gosebs.” The world with just humans, the world where I could be free. I had heard so many stories about Earth. The great cities, the oceans, paintings and songs. But I thought it a faraway legend. A myth, nothing more.

“It’s true, and the Gosebs are getting worried. The rebellion isn’t their only worry. There’s also The Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is a far off system of seventeen planets circling a bright yellow sun. It’s very similar to Earth’s solar system. They’re building a new society there. A world where humans and Gosebs live in peace and equality. They are the ones funding the rebellion. They build the ships, take refugees and grow the food.”

“The Sanctuary,” I said quietly. “I’ve never heard anything about it.”

“It’s kept very secret,” he said. “I’ve debated telling you many times. But I don’t know where it is or how to get there. I didn’t want to fill you with false hope,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t have any contacts in the rebellion. To get the location of the Sanctuary I would have to give up all of my work here. I had hoped to find some way to do both, but now... I feel I might be done with half-measures.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean, how can I talk about treating your people better? You’re our prisoners, you have no rights. To pretend that we could slowly transition to equality is nonsense. All that does is make it easier for my people to rationalize destroying yours. It’s not good enough. It has to be all or nothing.”

“So you’re going to join the rebellion?” I asked him.

“Something has to be done,” he said. “I can’t live with you as my prisoner anymore. It’s killing me.”

“I don’t want to cause you pain,” I said.

He reached over and took my hand in his. He brought it to his head and kissed the back of my hand and then the palm. He held my hand like it was a delicate piece of porcelain, something to be worshiped. He treated my dry and chapped hands, which had only ever known hard work, like they were perfect.

“You are the only thing in my life that brings me joy,” he said.

I looked over at his face, lit gently by the warm fire. A tingle went up and down my back as he held onto my hand, stroking my knuckles with his thumb. There was a longing in me that I had never felt before. A stirring inside my stomach, a pull in his direction.

“If we went to the Sanctuary I wouldn’t be your prisoner anymore. I would be free,” I said. “We would be equals.”

“We are equal now,” he said. “In my eyes, you are far better than me.”

Now it was my turn. I brought his green hand up. He was still wearing the black gloves of his armor and I slowly removed it, revealing his green hand. One by one I kissed the pads of his fingers, as I looked into his violet eyes.

“Do you fear me?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I long for you,” I whispered. He took my hand and pulled me closer to him. His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me close. I looked up into his eyes and then his lips were on mine. I closed my eyes as his kiss crashed down on me.

Chapter Eight

My lips met his. His hands were on my chin, guiding me towards him. I opened my lips and our tongues danced together. Next to us the fire was dying down. It was nothing more than a few embers. But we had enough heat between us. We kissed deeply, my arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to me.

He broke the kiss, but we remained connected, our foreheads touching. I could see right into his violet eyes. I could see the want and the need there.

“You don’t have to do anything-,” he started.

“I want to,” I interrupted. I was breathless. My heart was pounding. My face was flushed and hot but I wanted more. I had never been held like this. I had never felt so safe and protected. I wanted him. It was just that simple.

I had never wanted anyone else before. There had never been a man that had caught my eye. I thought I stayed away from men because I was worried I would lose them. But now I understood the real reason. I had been waiting for Detro. He was the man I belonged with. My heart and soul always knew.

I knew that I might lose him, but that only made our last moments together that much more precious. We didn’t have long. Every second was another second gone. I didn’t want to waste any of it.

I buried my hands in his hair. He sucked on my lower lip and I quivered in his arms. His kisses were passionate. He was consuming me and I let him. His hands were exploring up and down my body. He grabbed my hips, clutched at my thighs.

“Come with me,” he said. The fire was nearly dead, and in the darkness I took his hand and trusted him to lead me. We walked silently through the jungle towards his tent. He pushed the flap aside and I entered.

Nervousness overtook me once I was inside. I felt lightheaded and in the darkness I reached for him. His hands found mine in an instant. He pulled me closer and my fingers found the catches and buttons to his armor. Piece by piece I removed it, his breastplate, the guards on his arms and legs. When I was done, he stood shirtless in front of me in nothing more than a tight pair of shorts.

My shaky hand reached forward and I raked my fingers down his chest. He growled, but I didn’t let that stop me. My hand traveled farther down and he began to kiss my neck. His soft lips and tongue kissed and licked across my sensitive neck. I shuddered and grabbed his head as he held me even tighter.

“Yes,” I sighed, as he bit my neck.

He broke away from me and found the zipper on the front of my jumpsuit. He went slowly, kissing every inch of my newly exposed chest. He finished and the jumpsuit fell to the floor. A cool wind swept across my bare skin and I shuddered. He brought me close to him, pulling me to him and kissing me deeply.

We fell back onto the bed and he removed my bra. My breasts were exposed to the cold night air and I felt my nipples form tight peaks. Detro looked down at me and smiled and then, almost lazily, with the tip of his finger, he encircled the tip of my breast. His touch was light and teasing and it wasn’t long before I was moaning for more.

He leaned down and kissed the sensitive space between my breasts. He moved to one, taking my nipple between his teeth and flicking it with his tongue. I arched my back and clung to his strong shoulders, straining for his touch.

He moved between my legs and I brought my legs up on either side of him. He ran his hands up and down my body, squeezing my breasts gently before moving on. His touch lit a fire inside of me, a fire I had never experienced before. I wanted this. I wanted more.

I sat up and pulled him towards me and then down onto the bed. He lay on his back and I straddled him. We weren’t naked yet, but I could feel how hard he was. I moved my body against him and he closed his eyes and let out a low grown. I kissed his smooth chest and his hands curled into my hair.

“I want you, Mereen,” he whispered. “I would do anything for you.”

I found his lips and kissed him deeply as I continued to rock my body against his. He scraped his teeth along my neck and growled, and then he reached down and his hands found the waistband of my panties. Suddenly, he was flipping me over. He slipped the thin cloth down my hips, over my knees and past my ankles, before tossing them on the floor.

He leaned forward and kissed me as his hand moved between my legs. I took a gasping breath as I felt his fingers slide inside of me. He began to move his fingers in a slow rhythm and a bolt of pleasure shot through my body. He chuckled at that and then his hand focused on that place.

“Oh...yes,” I arched my back as he touched that place inside of me that was made of fire. Pleasure flooded my body. I could feel it from my head to my fingertips and all the way to my toes. It was like warmth and electricity all at the same time.

He kissed my breasts as his fingers continued to spin. I whispered for him to keep going, crying out in pleasure with every other breath. My eyes were closed; I couldn't tell up from down. I forgot where I was and who he was. All that mattered was that he never, ever stop.

He pulled his hand away and I cried out. He kissed me and then got up, pulled his own shorts down and stepped out of them, and climbed back into the bed.

“Come here,” he whispered, grabbing my hand. I sat up and kissed his bare shoulder and then looked into his violet eyes. He kissed me once, gently, and then turned me around. I was on my hands and knees as he positioned himself behind me.

His hands ran up and down my back as he slowly entered me. I was already wet. I let out a long, shuddering sigh as my body adjusted to his size. He began to move, slowly, back and forth. Then he was leaning forward and his fingers were touching me again. His fingers and body worked in a perfect rhythm that seemed designed to drive me mad.

“Yes. Please. Yes. Don’t stop.” I didn’t know what I was saying. My body was out of my control. I was pushing back against him, moving with him as the pleasure in my body grew. It was too much. It felt too good. I couldn’t take it anymore. Nothing in my life had ever been like this.

I cried out his name as he sped up. The pleasure inside of me was like a wave. It was growing and growing, and soon it would crash over me. I didn’t know if I could handle it. It felt like too much. But there was no way I could stop. I didn't want to stop.

My fingers curled into fists and then, suddenly, it was too much. My entire body tensed and then I was screaming out the word ‘yes’ as my body convulsed around him. My every nerve tingled, my every muscle seized. My entire body rocked with pleasure and I could feel it was the same for Detro. Finally, with deep heavy breaths, I came back down to X29.

We fell down onto the bed. His arms wrapped around me and I rested my head on his shoulder.

“What happens now?” I asked him.

“We will have some time,” he explained. “The commanders will have to call a tribunal and the tribunal will decide.”

“Maybe they’ll agree with you,” I said.

He shook his head and kissed my shoulder. “No, they won’t. But don’t worry. I won’t be taken by them. I will have my own plans, for me and for you. No harm will come to you and I will not go to re-education.”

“Then where will you go?” I asked.

“It’s best if you don’t know,” he said. “But I will not leave you all alone. I promise you that.”

Chapter Nine

I slept in his arms. The sounds of the jungle lulled me to sleep, but when the morning came we were forced to face reality. He helped me clean up and pack the camp. He carried the heavier items and I only had to lift blankets and pillows. It was a strange thing to see a Goseb lifting and carrying more than a human, but it was Detro, so it made sense.

By the time we got back to the ship we learned that a tribunal had already been called to discipline Detro. He would be expected to present himself in front of them and make his case. The ship was abuzz with the news. Thankfully, no one knew I was the reason, but no one was happy that he was leaving.

We spent as much time together as we could without getting caught. Every time I brought him a meal he would grab me and pull me into his bed. There seemed no end to the pleasures we could share. We made love on every spare inch of his quarters in every position. I found heights of ecstasy that I could never have even imagined. I wanted nothing more than to be with him, to be held in his arms.

We couldn’t spend the night together, because people would notice and talk. Detro’s main concern wasn’t himself or his upcoming tribunal. It was me. He didn’t want there to be any gossip about our relationship. Neither of us had said anything to anyone and, as far as we knew, no one else knew.

The time passed so quickly. I resented every moment I wasn’t with him. I hated the Gosebs in a way I had never hated them before. It wasn’t just Detro’s tribunal. It was everything the Gosebs had ever done to me and my people. I hated that they enslaved us, that they forced us to work, that we had no rights, no possessions, nothing that was our own.

At night, when I lay alone in my small cot in the crowded human quarters, I imagined myself a warrior crusader. I would be strong and fast and a great fighter. No one would be able to touch me. I would march into the Goseb command center and rip every last one of them apart, piece by piece. I imagined myself leading an army of humans across the Goseb territories and defeating every last one of them.

In my dreams, I was powerful and strong. Nothing could stop me. I was impervious to weapons. I was stronger than all the Goseb warriors. In my dreams, I could be everything I wasn’t in real life. I was in control. I was powerful. It was nothing compared to my real life, where I had no control over anything.

I wept the day he left. I tried to keep myself together. I tried to be strong for him. But I just couldn’t. His room had been packed up. Only the empty bed and desk remained. I set his basda out for him as the tears poured down my face.

“Hush, Mereen, hush,” he said, as he pulled me against his chest and ran his bare hand through my hair.

“Let’s run away,” I said, pulling back and looking up into his eyes. “Let’s run away. We can find The Sanctuary together.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head.

He still wouldn’t tell me what his plans were. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust me. It was the Gosebs he didn’t trust. I would never last under their questioning.

“Do you trust me?” he asked, tilting my chin up so I was looking at him.

“With my life,” I answered.

“Are you prepared to go to the planet side?” he asked me.

I nodded. He and I had decided that would be for the best. I could blend in down on the planet and Detro still had soldiers down there loyal to him. I would get a new name, a new chip. I would be a new person, just another prisoner working on the colony.

He took my by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. “I’m coming back,” he said. “I am not abandoning you on this planet. I will come back.”

I nodded and blinked back tears.

“Promise me you won’t do anything foolish or impatient. Promise me you’ll wait.”

“I promise,” I said. We kissed then. My tears transferred from my face to his. His hands were on my neck and then my back. I held onto him, refusing to let him go. Finally, he pulled my arms from around his waist and kissed my forehead.

“It will be alright, Mereen. I love you and I will come back for you.”

“I love you and I’ll wait,” I said, looking up into his eyes.

From there I was taken straight down to the planet. Tears were so thick in my eyes that I couldn’t see anything in front of me. My first glimpse of the camp was nothing but the color orange swimming in my tears. When I finally managed to wipe them clean I saw the flat, orange landscape, the long lines of white tents.

I only did two shifts in the laundry before I realized they had everything needed to make alcohol. I brokered a deal with Marge and, after that, I started making alcohol full time. At first, I expected Detro every moment of every day. My eyes were constantly scanning the horizon, looking for his ship. Every time there was a noise in the night, I would rise, thinking that Detro had come for me.

Days turned into weeks. Detro’s kindness and accommodations were swept away and replaced with brutality, sickness and hunger. The people around me mourned the loss of Detro. They openly asked about him and wondered where he was.

I kept my head down. I went to work, ate my rations. Every day was like the one before it. My skin was dry, it was always hot, there was always sand and dirt everywhere. At night, I dreamt about Detro. I dreamt that he had been captured, tortured, killed. In those dreams, he never came back for me. I died a miserable, old, dried-out husk of a woman.

Then I started to feel sick and tired, all of the time. I was constantly nauseous and my breasts became tender and sore and began to grow. I wasn’t a fool. I had seen pregnant women and I knew what the signs were. I had been informed that the doctor was understanding and could be trusted. I began to buy the prenatal vitamins from him and he checked on my pregnancy.

The days and weeks passed and there was still no sign of Detro. I wondered what gender the baby would be. A beautiful little girl with dark Goseb hair. A bouncing boy with pale green skin and human eyes. Even here, in this camp, I smiled at the thought. A baby, half me, half Detro.

If only our entire lives had been different. If only we had been completely different people born in a completely different time and place. Then the baby would have been good news, but for us it would only be a danger. It would be a death sentence for me and the baby inside of me. Detro would lose everything.

I kept it a secret, telling no one but the doctor, and even he didn’t know it was half-Goseb. I wished my mother was here. I was desperate for anyone to talk to. I wanted someone else who had been in my situation, but there was no one in my situation. I was alone, all alone, just trusting and hoping that Detro would come back for me.

Think of future bliss, Detro said. So that was what I did. At night, I closed my eyes and imagined The Sanctuary. Humans and Gosebs living side by side. I imagined sitting on a wide green lawn with Detro. Our baby ran around in front of us, jumping and laughing under the sun. We could be free there. We could be together without fear of reprisal. I would be free there. I would be my own person. I would answer to no one.

Chapter Ten

I stayed on the planet, whiling away the days, wondering where Detro was. I spent the day in my small closet in the laundry. It seemed that overnight my pregnancy had blossomed. I could feel a definite swell now. In the small closet I unzipped my jumpsuit and looked down my body.

My breasts were larger than they ever had been. My already large hips looked even bigger. But even more noticeable was my belly. Always soft and round, now there was a clear protrusion. I ran my hands over my own warm skin. I wondered if the baby could feel me. Did he or she know who I was yet? Would this little baby ever get to know Detro?

At least the nausea had passed for the most part, and the tiredness. But that had all been manageable. What would come next would be even worse. I would only get bigger from here on out. My feet and ankles would swell, my back would ache. It would be hard to hide, but easier down here on the ground than it would have been on the ship.

I wrapped myself up and stood in front of a glass cabinet where I could vaguely see my reflection. I zipped my jumpsuit back up and turned to the side, but still it was impossible to see that I was pregnant. Hopefully, I could hide it a little longer. Detro would come back for me. He had promised, and I had promised to wait for him. I needed to keep my end of the promise. I and this little thing inside me would wait for Detro. He would come.

I moved slowly back to my tent. It was one of the few pleasant nights at the camp. The larger sun had gone down and a chill wind was pushing through the camp. I could almost detect the scent of something in the air. A spice or a sweetness I had never smelled before. I wondered what else was on this inhospitable little rock. We only lived here in this little section. In another life, this planet could have been teaming with civilization. But the Gosebs were only interested in what they could get from it, not what they could build on it.

I found my way back to my tent, closing the flaps once I was inside. I didn’t bother lighting any lamps. There was nothing to light. Instead, I lay back on my bed and stared up at the shadows of my tent. They seemed to shift and change in front of my eyes. One was a tall tree with many branches, then the wind blew and the shapes rearranged and appeared again as a wolf with its teeth bared.

I drifted off to sleep. If I had any dreams, I didn’t remember them. I was woken by a hand pressed against my face. I opened my eyes with a start, but in the darkness I could only see the shadow of a man standing above me. I struggled as the man’s face came down, but then I heard his voice.

“It’s alright, it’s me.” My eyes adjusted to the darkness. He had a simple cloth wrapped around his face and I watched as he pulled it down, revealing his face.

I grabbed at him and pulled at his clothes. His arms were around me, holding me up. Tears streamed down my face. At last. At last, he was here. He had come back. I tried to stop the tears. I had a thousand things I wanted to say to him. I wanted to kiss him.

He put his hands on my chin and smiled down at me.

“You’re back,” I said, my voice hitching with a sob.

“I told you I would be,” he said, brushing my hair out of my face.

“What happened?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “I’ll tell you when we’re on the ship. Right now we have to go.”

I nodded and stood up with him. Out of habit, I reached for my rucksack, but then I realized I didn’t need it anymore. I would never come back here. Tomorrow I would be missing, although whether I was dead or alive was still to be decided.

“Are you alright?” he asked me. “Are you hurt? Did anyone hurt you?”

I shook my head and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’re going to have to run. Can you run?”

I nodded and then he took my hand and pulled me out of the tent. We walked out into the darkened camp without a backward glance. Our shoes crunched on the rough stone ground of X29. We stayed out of the main pathways of the camp. Instead, we hugged the shadows of the tents themselves. Moving as silently as possible we made our zig-zag way through the camp towards the western wall.

We stopped at the western edge of tents. Detro stopped suddenly and I kept close to him as we looked up and down the road. It was technically still night, but X29 had no real night, only the portion of the day when the more distant sun shone. We were open and exposed. If even one person saw us we would be doomed.

Detro crouched down and pulled me with him. Not far to our left were the Goseb guards. They were leaning against the western wall and didn’t look like they would be leaving for a while.

“My sensor!” I hissed, as the realization hit me. “It will signal an alarm if I cross the wall,” I said, putting my hand on the back of my neck.

“Don’t worry. My ship is right on the other side of the wall. I still have some friends on the orbiting ship. They’ve been covering for me on the scanners, but we don’t have much more time.”

He looked over at the guards and then to the right.

“We need a distraction,” I said, and he nodded.

“Wait here,” he said.

“No, I don’t want to be separated from you.”

“It’ll be fine,” he said.

I nodded and watched as he slinked back behind the tent. I sat on my haunches, looking up and down the lane for any more guards. There were pins and needles all over my body. It felt like I had been waiting forever, but it couldn’t have been longer than a few minutes.

A commotion to the left. The sound of something ripping. The guards stopped their talking and looked towards the sound. The commanding officer nodded his head and the others fell in line to investigate.

It had worked! Detro’s distraction had worked. Now I just needed to wait for him to come back and then we could climb over the wall and be gone. I looked for Detro but didn’t see him coming. I took the chance and stood up, but still there was nothing.

Then I saw something straight ahead. It was two guards and, to my horror, I saw that they held Detro between them. He was wrestling and fighting, but they had his arms pinned behind his back and then they furiously threw him against the wall.

Panic flooded my veins. I was frozen. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t scream. I couldn’t do anything but watch. And then my entire body began to shake. From head to toe, uncontrollable shivers ran down my body and I thought for a moment I might be sick.

The baby. I looked around. I had to do something. This was our one chance. There were two guards with Detro, but where was the third? I crouched down and ran between the tents until I saw him. A Goseb guard in his faceless mask, lying face down on the ground. I needed his gun. Where was his gun?

Carefully, I moved to his body. The Goseb guards weren’t far away. If they turned around, they would see me. I could hear them still scuffling with Detro. He wasn’t done fighting yet.

I knelt down by the body and felt up and down his armor for his gun. But it wasn’t here. Then I saw the way he was awkwardly laying. His right arm was crossed underneath his body. Taking a deep breath, I put both hands underneath the guard and then with a heave I hefted him over and saw his gun still clasped in his hand.

I pried it free of his already stiffening fingers and shakily stood up.

I didn’t shout a warning. I just fired the weapon right at the back of the guard who had Detro. The other guard turned around in shock, reaching for his weapon. But he was too slow. I pushed the trigger button and in an instant, he was dead. A shock of electricity strong enough to put down a beast twice his size had just been shot into his body.

Detro looked at me, his mouth hanging open. “The keys,” he said. His hands were cuffed behind his back. I could see the keys laying where they fell in the dirt. I grabbed them and raced towards Detro. I unlocked the cuffs and without a word he grabbed my hand and we headed towards the wall.

The wall was short, only four feet. The prisoners had the sensors in their necks, but that wasn’t the only deterrent. There was nothing out here. A human might run, but he would be dead within a few days.

Detro gave me his hand and helped me over the wall. Once on the other side I could see the faint shimmer of his ship.

“Open the bay door,” he commanded and, as if by magic, a door lifted and I could see the interior of the ship.

He made sure I was inside first and then he ran in and closed the door behind him. It was just a small shuttle, barely more than two chairs and a console. But the chairs were supply level and the air in here was fresh and cool. I collapsed into a chair as Detro took off. I could see the camp below us. The small white tents grew smaller as we left X29 behind.

Epilogue

We docked with the main ship. It was a smaller ship, meant to transport only a few individuals. He and I were the only two people on board. We docked, and from the shuttle he charted our course out of the system.

“I imagine you’ll be excited to sleep in a warm bed tonight,” he said, caressing my cheek.

“I have to tell you something,” I said. I took his hand in mine and stood up. He looked up at me in confusion as I led his hand down my body, stopping at the swell of my stomach. He blinked slowly, his mouth open.

“I didn’t know until you left,” I said. He nodded, put both of his hands on my belly and then looked up at me almost in awe.

“I’m sorry,” he said, standing up and pulling me into a hug.

“For what? Saving me?” I asked. He leaned down and kissed me. I had forgotten the taste of his lips and the feel of his tongue. I had thought of nothing but him for the last few months, but all of my dreams were nothing compared to the real thing.

“I found it,” he whispered. “The Sanctuary. It’s real. I’ve been there.”

“How?”

“I didn't go to the tribunal,” he said, with a shrug. “I headed toward Earth system and told the rebellion I wanted to join them. I’ve spent all this time getting them to trust me. They thought I had been sent by the Gosebs to trick them. But I told them about you and what I had done here. They had heard of me. I offered them everything I knew about the Gosebs. The only thing I wanted in return was to come back here and get you and then go with you to the Sanctuary.”

“Our baby will be free,” I said.

“And safe,” he agreed. I looked up into his purple eyes.

He led me onto the ship. I showered. I have no idea how long I was in there. I let the hot soapy water cover my body and remove every last particle of dust. I got out of the shower and into the ship's lone bedroom. There was a closet and I opened it and saw a wide variety of clothes for a human my size. Dresses, pants, t-shirts, sweaters were lined up in all different colors. I could wear anything I wanted. I didn't have to wear a jumpsuit. I didn’t have to be anywhere. I touched the back of my neck where I knew the sensor still rested. That thing would never again get to dictate where I was allowed to go.

Detro came in and wrapped his arms around my towel-clad body.

“I missed you every moment of every day,” he said.

“I missed you more,” I whispered back, and I saw him smile.

I put on a loose green dress. It was the softest thing I had ever worn. The fabric felt smooth and wonderful against my skin. I walked up to the cockpit and sat down next to Detro. The screen above us showed our progress through the systems. The stars were nothing more than white lines shooting past us.

“We’ll come back for the people at the camp,” I said.

He nodded. “I’ve seen the rebellion. They’re strong and smart and they’ve got a lot of soldiers. The Gosebs have no idea what they’re up against. We surprised your people in the last attack, but things have changed. The humans aren’t so naive anymore.”

I reached across the space between us and took his hand and squeezed it. Everything would be alright. I was sure of it.

*****

THE END